Draíocht Blog

Des Kenny Reviews Aisling Conroy - Ocular Reverberations

June 19, 2013

Aisling Conroy has almost finished as Artist in Residence at Draíocht for the last six months (January-June 2013). Aisling took advantage of Draíocht’s Artist Studio to produce the body of work situated on the Ground Floor Gallery space.

Placed in the centre of the gallery is a sculpture called Foundation, constructed from discarded frames. These frames may have held family photos, prints or paintings but now are empty. This void is filled by a chanting or humming sound emanating from two speakers placed at the base of the sculpture. The sound appears to resonate with memories of lost images that are still retained in the vacant frames like ghosts. The frames are haunted by their past. The sculpture tilts at an awkward angle and just about defies gravity and might topple over at any time. The artist is playing with the notion of discovering a tilted frame on a wall - we have an innate desire to rectify this imbalance and straighten the frame. When the frames are removed from their recognised formal function and operate in a different capacity, this eagerness to correct slanting frames, dissipates and our inaction is filled by the chanting humming music of the sculpture. Desire patiently emerges dressed in emptiness.

Four large circular lambda prints are found on one gallery wall. They are abstract in form and each print is dominated by one colour i.e. red, yellow, blue and green. The lighter colour found at the periphery recedes towards a dark centre. Each print has a unique musical recording which is heard through ear phones. The colour of the prints and musical chants entwine and release images from the recesses of our mind and imagination. The yellow print with the sound of children heard in the accompanied musical piece produces a feeling of joy and inescapable calm. The green print and chant evokes emerald forests, the scent of rain on green leaves and fern covered caves, gateways to mysteries not discovered. The blue print associates with images of distant Blue Mountains, cloud free skies and a yearning for something just beyond understanding. The red print bubbles with passionate desires that surface uncontrollably from depths of wildness we assumed were buried and forgotten. These works help transport the viewer into a daydream reverie where the unconscious thought stream encounters daily concerns. At times this is unnerving, since there is no control over the sensations and feelings that are unleashed. The artist allows such outpouring of imagery overcome our natural guarded exterior self and opens pathways to our interior life.

Around the rest of the gallery walls hang coloured pieces made from discarded corrugated boxes. Various sizes of card board are glued and are placed on top of each other. In one piece called Alber’s Ritual II, the artist makes reference to Josef Albers (1888- 1976) the artist who made paintings of coloured squares. Generally Albers created paintings with three coloured squares, each square smaller than the previous one. Using this restrictive formula he explored the effects colours had on their neighbouring colours. Whether they receded or moved forward when observed with the naked eye. Aisling re-examines this territory and finds a new theme by allowing the colours escape the picture plane of Albers illusory vocabulary and projects colour into the architectural space of the gallery. Artists are in constant dialogue with past masters and art history is a living entity and not a dust covered shelf full of books with tattered facts. These works extend a conversation with the past and take wing on changing winds of living history.

Desmond Kenny is an artist based in Hartstown, Dublin 15. He is a self taught painter, since he began making art in 1986 he has since exhibited widely in Ireland and abroad, solo shows include Draíocht in 2001, The Lab in 2006 and Pallas Contemporary Projects in 2008. His work is included in many collections including the Office of Public Works, SIPTU, and Fingal County Council. Kenny's practice also incorporates print making and he has been a member of Graphic Studio Dublin since 2004.

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